Brewer s cooler



A. WOOD.

. Beer Copier. No. 18,220.- Patented Sept. 15, 1857.

B p p 0 l ADAM YVOOD, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

BREWER S COOLER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 18,220, dated September 15, 1857.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADAM VVooo, of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Coolers Used in Brewing and for Rapidly Cooling the Wort or Liquor after being Boiled; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same; reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figures 1, and 2, are vertical sections of my improvement; the planes of section crossing each other at right angles.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures.

In the art of brewing it is essential that the wort, after being boiled with the necessary quantity of hops and properly concentrated and rendered clear, should be cooled as expeditiously as possible in order to prevent acet-ification, or foxing as it is technically termed. The means employed at present to effect this object, consists in having large shallow vessels constructed of wood into which the liquor'is poured, and employing horizontal fans by which a powerful draft of air is created or produced over the surface of the liquor. Success by this means is not always certain, and the liquor often becomes acetified before it is cooled.

My invention consists in constructing the bottoms of the cooler of corrugated sheet iron, galvanized; the bottom being formed of two sheets, or being what may be termed a double bottom, each bottom being corrugated and so placed in cont-act that channels or passages are formed between them by the corrugations. Through these channels or passages, cold water or air is passed or forced by any proper means. This cooler is of the usual proportion, quite shallow, but having considerable area; and the usual fan is employed to create the current of air over the surface of the liquor.

By this improvement the heat is absorbed from both the upper and lower surfaces of the liquor, the process of brewing greatly expedited, the bottoms of the cooler allowed to expand and contract freely, and the cooling of the liquor before acetification can ensue placed beyond peradventure.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, "I will proceed to describe it.

A, B, represent the two bottoms of the cooler. The lower bottom A, is constructed of sheet iron, galvanized, and is crimped or corrugated so as to form a series of parallel elevations and depressions. A transverse section of these corrugations is shown in Fig. 1, and it will be seen that they form a sinuous line; the depressions (a), corresponding inversely in form and dimensions to the elevations 6, (see Fig. 1.) This bottom, of course, is formed of several sheets of iron riveted together. The sides (0), of the cooler are quite low, andthe bottom A, may rest upon any proper framing C.

Upon the bottom A, the bottom B, is placed. This bottom is constructed similarly tothe bottom A, and its depressions ((Z), are in contact with the elevations (b), of the bottom plate. In consequence of the two bottoms being thus corrugated and placed in contact, a series of passages (e). are formed between the two bottoms, and at both ends of the corrugations of both bottoms a channel (f), is formed; said channels being at right angles with the corrugations. These channels (7), are shown in Fig. 2 in which figure they are bisected transversely. The passages (e) and channels are more particularly shown in Fig. It will be seen by referring to this figure that each passage (6) communicates at both ends with the channels (f) and the water as indicated by the arrows in said figure will have an uninterrupted flow through the passages (c) and channels (f) from the induction to the eduction pipe, it being understood that there is not a sinuous passage from the induction to the eduction pipe, that is, the water does'not pass successively through the several passages (6), but there is a free communication of each passage (6) with the channels D, represents an induction pipe, which communicates with the passage (6), at one side of the cooler; and E, is an eduction pipe, which communicates with the passage (6), at the opposite side of the cooler.

The coolers are to be constructed of the usual size, and the hot liquor shown in red is allowed to run directly into the cooler. The bottom B, on account of being corrugated as shown, is allowed to expand freely, and consequently is not liable to part at its joints nor be broken or injured in any way on account of its sudden expansion caused by the hot liquor coming in contact with it. The same may be said of the lower bottom A, although this bottom is not subjected to such extremes as the upper one, as the hot liquor does not come in contact with it.

Through the passages (c), which are formed by the corrugations of the bottoms, cold water is torced either by static pressure or by a pump. The heat of the liquor, therefore, will be absorbed from both its upper and lower surfaces; it being understood that the usual fan is used above the cooler, and the liquor will consequently be rapidly cooled. A current of air may be substituted for water, but the latter probably would be preferable.

I am aware that sheet metal has been previously employed for coolers, but has been abandoned on account of the difiiculty in keeping the joints tight, owing to the contraction and expansion of the metal. Sheet metal would be preferable to wood as light metal will answer, and the liquor would cool sooner than if wooden bottoms were used. By my improvement this difliculty attending the expansion and contraction of the metal is avoided. Light sheet metal may also be used, as the corrugations add metal bottoms, viewed only as a means to compensate for the expansion and contraction of the metal, for this is a well known mode of obviating this difliculty and is employed in metal plates for roofing and other purpose. Neither do I claim the cooling of the liquor by means of cold water tubes with wh ch the liquor is brought in contact,

and the bottoms allowed to expand and contract freely without injury, by which the bottom of the liquor wi hin the cooler may be cooled as quickly as the top, or the heat rapidly absorbed from both surfaces, and the cooling of the whole mass or quantity therefor-e greatly expedited.

ADAM WOOD Witnesses:

J oiiN Jnrrunr, JAMES lvlctlinm. 

